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Game of Thrones’ Iwan Rheon to play Marvel villain

Game of Thrones‘ Iwan Rheon will portray a Marvel villain in his next project.

The Ramsay Bolton actor has been cast as Maximus, a starring role in Marvel and ABC’s new Inhumans series. Maximus is described by Marvel Studios as “clever and charming Inhuman that is fiercely devoted to the people of Attilan, especially his brother, the King”.

In the Marvel comics, the character is sometimes known as Maximus the Mad, and is a major antagonist who plans to usurp his brother Black Bolt’s rule. His near-genius intelligence, remarkable inventions and ability to control people’s minds make him a formidable adversary.

The role of a power-hungry villain will be easy for Rheon, whose portrayal of the twisted and sadistic Ramsay Bolton won him popularity with fans and critics alike. Fortunately, Ramsay met a grisly end at the hands of his wife Sansa in the final episode of season six, leaving Rheon’s diary free for business.

Speaking of the casting, Marvel TV boss Jeph Loeb said: “Iwan’s ability to be charming, roguish, and still completely unexpectedly dangerous were all the different sides we needed to bring the character to life. We’re thrilled to have him on board.”

Marvel’s Inhumans showrunner Scott Buck added: “Maximus is a complex character. Likable, charming, tragic and villainous all in the same moment, and I’m very excited to have someone of Iwan’s considerable talent.”

Marvel’s Inhumans will launch as a mini-movie in US cinemas on September 1 before continuing on small screens from September 26.

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Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh to score Thor: Ragnarok

We were already excited about Thor: Ragnarok‘s ’80s feel when its official logo was unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con this July, but news of the man behind the film’s music has seriously just upped its retro cred. Mark Mothersbaugh, multi-instrumentalist of iconic band Devo, has been confirmed to score the new Marvel instalment starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and co.

Mothersbaugh already has an impressive soundtrack filmography, with his credits including a number of Wes Anderson films (The Life Aquatic, The Royal Tenenbaums) as well as children’s movies such as Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked and The LEGO Movie.

Directed by Taika Waititi of What We Do in the Shadows fame, Thor: Ragnarok promises to be a cosmic road trip that is rumoured to feature a number of MCU cameos, including a possible appearance from Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange.

We shall have to wait and see when Thor: Ragnarok hits cinemas on November 3rd, 2017.

Meanwhile, Doctor Strange hits UK cinemas on October 28th 2016, ahead of its American release on November 4th.

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Natalie Portman is “done” with Marvel

In case you were wondering when Jane Foster might be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the answer might be never.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal about her future at Marvel, Natalie Portman, who played Foster in Thor and Thor: The Dark World, has said: “As far as I know, I’m done”.

The question has of course been on our minds since we learned that Portman’s character would not be returning for the next instalment of Thor – Thor: Ragnarok – which already has a star-studded cast including Chris Hemsworth, Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins and Jeff Goldblum.

So, shall the son of Odin ever be reunited with his earthling love?

“I don’t know if, maybe, one day they’ll ask for an Avengers 7 or whatever”, said Portman. “I have no idea”.

Natalie Portman can next be seen in anthology film The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards alongside James Franco, Kristen Wiig and more.

Gossip Girl creators Josh Schwartz & Stephanie Savage are set to bring to life Brian K. Vaughan’s Runaways, which follows six diverse teenagers who can barely stand each other, but who must unite against a common foe – their parents.

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Gossip Girl creators Josh Schwartz & Stephanie Savage are getting back on the TV horse, this time bringing to life a beloved Marvel property for Hulu. Written by Brian K. Vaughan, the man behind Saga and Ex Machina, Runaways is the comic in question, which follows the story of six diverse teenagers who can barely stand each other, but who must unite against a common foe – their parents.

Speaking to Deadline, Schwartz said of the project: “I’m a long-time fan of Runaways and couldn’t be more excited to bring Brian and Adrian’s characters to life”.

“Josh and I can’t wait to get to work for Marvel and Hulu”, added Savage.

And a coming-of-age story like Runaways should come easily to the duo, considering their joint work on Gossip Girl, along with Schwartz’s other hugely successful show, The O.C, which starred the comics-obsessed cult character Seth Cohen.

“We’ve known the Runaways story would make great television”, said Jeph Loeb, EP and Head of Marvel Television, “and being lucky enough to have Josh and Stephanie — who have time and again created shows that speak so genuinely to this exact audience — write and produce the series is nothing short of remarkable”.

So, while we wouldn’t have said there was any particular need for yet another Marvel TV show to hit our screens, we must admit we’re pretty excited about Runaways.

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Netflix releases first official Luke Cage trailer

“Sometimes if you want justice, you have to get it yourself”... The first official trailer for Marvel’s Luke Cage is finally here, and it’s certainly got our hearts racing and our eyes watering.

Set to be as gritty and action-packed as its Netflix-Marvel predecessors Daredevil and Jessica Jones, this next instalment in the Defenders series centres around the charismatic unbreakable man from which it takes its name, as played by Mike Colter.

Setting up Cage’s return to his native Harlem following the events of Jessica Jones, not least his failed relationship with the super-strengthed heroine, the trailer suggests that the fugitive hero’s attempts to rebuild a normal life for himself might not go so smoothly, especially when the little issue of saving his city rears its head.

The trailer also teases a bit more of Rosario Dawson’s Claire Temple, who played important roles in both Daredevil and Jessica Jones, and introduces us to other key cast members Mahershala Ali (Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes), Alfre Woodard (Mariah Dillard), Simone Missick (Misty Knight), Theo Rossi (Shades), and Frank Whaley (Rafael Scarfe).

“The world is ready for a bulletproof black man,” said showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker at Comic Con this summer, and we’re certainly ready to get a whole load more of what we see in the 2:45 minute trailer below.

Marvel’s Luke Cage comes to Netflix on September 30th 2016 at 12:01am PT.

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Cult fans will be excited to learn that Danai Gurira has been confirmed to star in Marvel’s upcoming Black Panther.

One of the many exciting developments gleaned from this year’s San Diego Comic Con, the news that Gurirawould be joining the already impressive cast including Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o was announced at Marvel’s SDCC panel, and confirmed by a number of online sources.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gurira – who’s best known for the role of sword-wielding Michonne in AMC’s The Walking Dead – has been cast as Okoye: “the head of the Dora Milaje, the personal body guards of the Black Panther”.

Under the direction of Creed writer-director Ryan Coogler, the much anticipated film will expand on the Black Panther character we fell in love with in this year’s Captain America: Civil War, and is expected to hit theatres in 2018.

“Ryan has beautiful things in store for us”, Boseman told the crowds at Comic Con over the weekend. And we absolutely believe him.

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Benedict Cumberbatch gets his kit off in new Doctor Strange trailer

San Diego Comic Con has been filling us with joy and excitement with all manner of reveals over the weekend, but we’ve got to admit that our favourite reveal had to be that of a bare chested Benedict Cumberbatch in the latest trailer for Marvel’s Doctor Strange.

Boasting Inception style visual effects and gorgeous settings, this latest instalment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 3 seems to be courting an even wider audience than the existing comics film fanbase.

And while we’re still not completely sold on Cumberbatch’s American accent, the more we see of Mikkelsen as the villainous Kaecilius has us hopeful that Marvel might finally be improving upon its tendency toward underdeveloped antagonists.

Doctor Strange hits UK cinemas on October 28th 2016, ahead of its American release on November 4th.

Since we reported about two new X-Men themed superhero shows being developed by Marvel and FOX last October – Hellfire and Legion – change has been stirring in the world of live action comics TV shows. Hellfire has sadly gone the… read more

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Since we reported about two new X-Men themed superhero shows being developed by Marvel and FOX last October – Hellfire and Legion – change has been stirring in the world of live action comics TV shows. Hellfire has sadly gone the way of the dodo, as showrunners Evan Katz and Manny Coto have since dropped the project to work on 24: Legacy, and Legion appears to be well on its way, with a stellar cast acquired and a UK broadcaster set. But before you go panicking about not having enough X-Men on your TV, you’ll be pleased to know there’s a bright new project in the works to fill that Hellfire-sized hole.

FOX has reportedly given a put pilot commitment to a new, as yet untitled superhero series, which will be developed by Burn Notice creator Matt Nix, and is said to follow “two ordinary parents who discover their children possess mutant powers”.

“Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family joins up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive”, the early synopsis continues.

David Madden, President of Entertainment at Fox Broadcasting Company, has said of the upcoming show:

“Developing a Marvel property has been a top priority for the network — and we are so pleased with how Matt Nix has led us into this thrilling universe. There’s comic book adventure, emotional and complicated relationships, and a rich, existing mythology from which to draw. With the brilliant production crew behind this project, it has all the makings of a big, fun and exciting new series”.

Head of Marvel TV Jeph Loeb adds: “Marvel Television is thrilled to be co-producing with 20th Century Fox Television on our first project. Matt’s a huge fan of X-Men and his take on X-Men, with its rich characters and high-stakes adventure, is exactly the show we want on FOX. It’s a great team of creative producers who will be making something entirely unique”.

X-Men TV series ‘Legion’ gets UK broadcaster

Today, in exciting news for those of us on this side of ‘the pond’, FOX UK has confirmed that it will air Legion to UK audiences when the show makes its global premiere in early 2017.

Starring Downton Abbey‘s Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller and Jean Smart of Fargo, and Parks and Recreation‘s Aubrey Plaza, Legion will centre around the origin story of young David Haller, also known as ‘Legion’ after his multiple personality disorder, who has family ties to X-Men legend, and mutant powers that were wrongly diagnosed as schizophrenia in his teenage years.

“Legion is just the sort of ambitious story that Noah excels at. His adaption of Fargo for television was one of the most acclaimed television events in recent memory. It’s also an honour to partner with Marvel on Legion and to enlist such an accomplished team of Executive Producers to create this pilot.”

Significantly, this partnership between Marvel TV and FOX means that the two companies are willing to exchange licensing for comics properties. Will this also apply to film rights? Only time can tell.

Legion is set to premiere on FOX networks in early 2017 to more than 125 countries. More news on TVGuide.co.uk as we hear it!

REVIEW: Marvel’s Daredevil achieves the impossible with even stronger second season

As the runaway success of its first season gave rise to smash hit Marvel’s Jessica Jones, plus the much anticipated Defenders series to follow, you could say the bar for season two of Marvel’s Daredevil had been… read more

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REVIEW: Marvel’s Daredevil achieves the impossible with even stronger second season

As the runaway success of its first season gave rise to smash hit Marvel’s Jessica Jones, plus the much anticipated Defenders series to follow, you could say the bar for season two ofMarvel’s Daredevil had been set pretty high. Now, after an eleven-month interval since first falling in love with Matt Murdock and co. (yes, I’ve been counting), I say without exaggeration thatNetflix has achieved the impossible with the show’s return. Benefiting from two formidable additions to the cast, the further development of our favourite existing characters, a hearty serving of unforgettable fight scenes, and even a much yearned for injection of romance, this new instalment of Marvel’s Daredevil manages to rise above and beyond the exemplary standard set by the show’s debut run. Even if it’s still too dark to see what’s going on half the damn time…

With the unmatchable Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) seemingly locked away at the end of Daredevil 1, my main reservation about the show’s followup season was that the scene-stealing villain’s shoes would not be sufficiently filled. I mean, how could they be, when that character was so uniquely chilling; so imposing in his physical strength, and so ready to flip from zero to one hundred in a heartbeat? Who or what could possibly top that? Luckily, new showrunners Doug Petrie and Marco Ramirez (replacing season one boss Steven DeKnight) found the answer; the Punisher.

The genius of introducing Punisher as a foil for Daredevil lies in the duo’s ambiguous moral ground; the difference being that the new troubled antihero on the scene, portrayed masterfully by The Walking Dead‘sJon Bernthal, has well and truly crossed the line that Daredevil tentatively toes. “You hit them and they get back up. I hit them and they stay down”, he growls at Daredevil, now endearingly nicknamed ‘Red’, as the two compare their philosophies on a rooftop. In fact, the Punisher’s ruthless approach to bad guys (adopted both in his service as a Marine, and in response to personal tragedy) actually makes our titular hero seem kind of ineffective at times. Murdock would rather let the offender go, free to continue a life of crime at the expense of the innocent, than borrow from Punisher’s book and just shoot the guy already. Their differing brands of vigilantism are starkly pitched against one another, with Punisher painting Daredevil’s humanity as a weakness. Of course, it’s the vulnerability afforded by his own deeply buried humanity that Punisher’s most afraid of. It’s seriously compelling stuff.

If anyone’s pathologically insane in the series, though, it’s not Frank Castle’s Punisher; it’s Elektra Natchios. Given a new lease of life by soon-to-see-her-everywhere Elodie Yung, the character once consigned to the cultural trash heap by that Jennifer Garner film sashays onto the scene just as our hero’s personal life seems to be assuming some level of functionality. She’s cold, calculating, and every bit the physical match for her former flame Matt Murdock. On top of dragging Daredevil into a whole new world of drama, the timing of her entrance could not be more frustrating, as the unresolved tension between Matt and another lovely lady friend has just began to blossom in the form of the most breathtaking romantic sequence we’ve seen in some time. But anyway, it’s not that kind of show. We won’t see Daredevil riding off into the sunset any time soon.

It’s not just the shiny new toys that make this new season of Daredevil so enthralling, though. The exceptional Charlie Cox gets to show some different sides to himself than the serious and the shirtless, as new challenges bring out more of Daredevil’s complexities and Matt Murdock’s personal life is also further explored. Now that Wilson Fisk appears to be out of the picture, Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) is a dog with a new bone on the case of Frank Castle’s shrouded past, and even Foggy (Elden Henson) is afforded greater maturity as a player. It’s a pleasure to see Rosario Dawson return as the tireless Claire Temple, making wink-wink-nod-nod references to her part in Jessica Jones, and my left of field love for (as yet) minor character Melvin the costumier is satisfied by his brief but charming appearances.

From the seven episodes kindly provided me by Netflix for preview, I’m confident in saying that season two only sees Daredevil going from strength to strength. The absence of fan favourite Steven DeKnight is all but imperceptible, as the level of writing, acting, choreography and direction remains consistent with the first season, and the added elements brought by the new storylines afford opportunities for finer tuning and greater sophistication. Netflix, you’ve done it again!

All 14 episodes of Marvel’s Daredevil are available to Netflix subscribers from Friday, March 18th.